Sanborn – Lakes Region Waterfront Sales Report August 2013

August was a great month for waterfront sales on Winnipesaukee with a whopping 23 transactions. There were six sales over the $1 million mark, but a large number of low end sales brought the average sales price down to $731,396. That brings the total sales for the year thus far to 84 at an average price of $884,570 compared to 81 sales at $945,453 for the same period last year.

The highest sale on Winni for the month was at 46 Veasey Shore Road in Meredith. This contemporary, Adirondack style home was built in 2009 and has 5,856 square feet of living space to get lost in. The great room features wood cathedral ceilings, a wall of stone encompassing the fireplace, and a wall of windows to take in the view which also leads out onto expansive decking. The custom kitchen, a four season porch, and a master suite round out the main living level. The second level has en-suite bedrooms and a loft while the lower level walk-out has a family room with a fireplace, game room, and an additional bedroom. The home sits on a 2.68 acre lot with 250' of frontage with great long range views, a u-shaped dock, and a bunkhouse at the water's edge. This home had been on the market for around three years with a starting price of $3.85 million and finally sold in "as is" condition for $1.8 million. The current assessed value is $1.91 million.

The home representing this month's median price point of $600,000 is located at 37 Indian Shore Road in Alton. This is a 1975 vintage, 1,872 square foot, three bed, two bath home with outstanding views. The house sits on a .46 acre lot with 100' of frontage and has a covered U-shaped dock. This was the first time this property was offered for sale and the $650,000 list price definitely caught someone's attention as it was only on the market for 28 days before selling at the $600,000 mark. It is currently assessed at $640,400.

Once again, an island property takes the entry level lowest price award. A "cute, cute" one room cabin that is said to contain all the necessities one could want or need at 286 Sleeper Island in Alton gets the honors. I'll have to take the agent's word that it is cute as there were no pictures on-line. This is truly a place to become one with yourself. You may have no choice as it has 192 square feet of living space, but there is a deck that provides additional space to spread out when necessary. There is a separate shed for an incinolet toilet (that's electric, folks) and, as one would expect, the water source is the lake. But hey, it sits on a half acre lot with 100' of frontage. It was listed at $198,500 and sold after only 20 days on the market for $190,000! Its current assessment is $153,100. I think it was the incinolet that really sealed the deal...

There were three waterfront sales on Winnisquam in August bringing the total so far this year to 10 sales at an average price of $498,750. That equals the 10 sales last year at an average of $499,100. That's pretty coincidental! The largest sale for the month was at 35 Lakeside Drive in Sanbornton. This home was being offered for the first time by the original owner and was in pristine condition. Built in 2003, it has 3,260 square feet of living space, four bedrooms, three and a half baths, hardwood floors with radiant heat, granite, tile, beautiful woodwork, a finished walk out basement, and fantastic views across the broadest part of the lake. The house sits on a quarter acre, nicely landscaped lot with 100' of frontage and dock. This home was offered originally at $889,000, was reduced to $830,000, and sold for $793,000 after 194 days on the market. It is currently assessed at $657,600.

There was one sale on Squam in August which occurred at 471 High Haith Road in Center Harbor. This 2,892 square foot residence was built in 1983 and sits on a 13.4 acre lot with 850' of frontage. Not a lot of other info and no internal pictures were provided in the MLS. I guess we'll have to guess about how nice this place is but as it sold for $3.65 million I assume it was probably more than OK...what do you think?Please feel free to visit www.lakesregionhome.com to learn more about the Lakes Region real estate market and comment on this article and others. Data was compiled using the Northern New England Real Estate MLS System as of 9/13/13. Roy Sanborn is a REALTOR® at Four Seasons Sotheby's International Realty and can be reached at 603-455-0335.